Let's apply systematic…inventive thinking to a service.…Imagine you work for a large hotel chain.…One of the most important services…for any hotel is the hotel check-in process.…Let's use the division technique to create some new…innovative ways to better serve our customers.…You begin the division technique…by listing the components of the process.…The components are the steps of the process.…So be sure to list them in the same order…as how the process actually works.…

I suggest putting each step on a stickie note…so you can move it around a lot easier.…Here are the steps of the check-in process…beginning with making a room reservation…and ending all the way to where you unlock the door,…walk in and inspect the room.…Notice the level of detail of these steps.…I find that somewhere between eight and 15 steps…in a particular process is about the right level…of granularity for this exercise.…Not too detailed but not too broad either.…

Now pick a component, any step in the process…and then arbitrarily rearrange it somewhere…

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Released

7/3/2014

Innovation propels companies forward. It's an unlimited source of new growth and can give businesses a distinct competitive advantage. Learn how to innovate at your own business using Systematic Inventive Thinking, a method based on five techniques that allow you to innovate on demand. In this course, author and business school professor Drew Boyd shares the techniques he's taught Fortune 500 companies to innovate new services and products. Drew provides real-world examples of innovation in practice and suggests places to find your own opportunities to innovate.

In the bonus chapter, Drew shares insights from his own career and answers tough questions on resistance to innovation, innovation and leadership, and the difference between generating vs. executing innovative ideas.